Maliki the tropical Dingo.
14 August 2014
Healesville Sanctuary is delighted to announce the names of their newest arrivals. Sister dingo puppies will be called Yani and Maliki. This follows a naming competition which received more than 1,600 entries.
“Our keepers chose these names because Yani and Maliki are both Indigenous names from northern Queensland, meaning peace and dingo,” Mr Glen Holland, Healesville Sanctuary’s Director said. “We always get great support when we ask the public to help us name our animals.”
There is quite a difference between resident dingoes at Healesville Sanctuary, and this newest pair.
Alpine Dingoes adapt to live in the snow in the south-east region of Australia with their thick, double coat. Tropical Dingoes can be found along the northern coast of Australia and are most famous as the dingoes that can be seen on Fraser Island. Tropical Dingoes only have a single coat due to their climate adaptations.
Yani and Maliki are the Sanctuary’s first ever Tropical Dingo puppy pair. “Like a whole range of animals, those closer to the equator tend to be smaller than those that are closer to the Arctic/Antarctic regions,” Sue Jaensch, Assistant Curator, Wild Natives, Healesville Sanctuary said. “Think of the northern Koala versus the southern Koala." This phenomenon is known as the Bergmann’s Cline. The cause of these physical differences is that the two breeds have simply been isolated and have adapted over generations to the environments that they are found.
30 April 2015
Our newest cute and fluffy addition to the Healesville Sanctuary family is the first Italian species to ever be added to our animal collection and he has a very important role to play down at Dingo Country.
Last year one of the Sanctuary’s dingo pups died suddenly from a suspected snake bite, leaving her sister Maliki alone and in need of a friend, and as dingoes are a social species and would naturally live in packs, our keepers had to work quickly to find a solution. After much investigation, and being unable to source a purebred dingo, our teams began to consider a domestic dog companion. Their research landed them at the Maremma breed which, while being a domestic dog, does share similarities with the dingo. Keepers decided this unlikely duo would make a good match.
Dante (meaning steadfast and strong) has a gentle and affectionate nature and his favourite game is playing hide and seek with Maliki and his keepers. Now six months old, Dante towers over Maliki but he is still a baby, so it will be some months before they are housed together permanently. Until then, they enjoy daily walks together and it is not uncommon to hear Maliki howl with anticipation as the keepers prepare for the two to spend time together.
Maremmas are a livestock guardian dog breed and Zoos Victoria is also trialling the use of Maremmas to protect critically endangered Eastern Barred Bandicoots being returned to the wild.
Maliki the tropical Dingo.
14 August 2014
Healesville Sanctuary is delighted to announce the names of their newest arrivals. Sister dingo puppies will be called Yani and Maliki. This follows a naming competition which received more than 1,600 entries.
“Our keepers chose these names because Yani and Maliki are both Indigenous names from northern Queensland, meaning peace and dingo,” Mr Glen Holland, Healesville Sanctuary’s Director said. “We always get great support when we ask the public to help us name our animals.”
There is quite a difference between resident dingoes at Healesville Sanctuary, and this newest pair.
Alpine Dingoes adapt to live in the snow in the south-east region of Australia with their thick, double coat. Tropical Dingoes can be found along the northern coast of Australia and are most famous as the dingoes that can be seen on Fraser Island. Tropical Dingoes only have a single coat due to their climate adaptations.
Yani and Maliki are the Sanctuary’s first ever Tropical Dingo puppy pair. “Like a whole range of animals, those closer to the equator tend to be smaller than those that are closer to the Arctic/Antarctic regions,” Sue Jaensch, Assistant Curator, Wild Natives, Healesville Sanctuary said. “Think of the northern Koala versus the southern Koala." This phenomenon is known as the Bergmann’s Cline. The cause of these physical differences is that the two breeds have simply been isolated and have adapted over generations to the environments that they are found.
30 April 2015
Our newest cute and fluffy addition to the Healesville Sanctuary family is the first Italian species to ever be added to our animal collection and he has a very important role to play down at Dingo Country.
Last year one of the Sanctuary’s dingo pups died suddenly from a suspected snake bite, leaving her sister Maliki alone and in need of a friend, and as dingoes are a social species and would naturally live in packs, our keepers had to work quickly to find a solution. After much investigation, and being unable to source a purebred dingo, our teams began to consider a domestic dog companion. Their research landed them at the Maremma breed which, while being a domestic dog, does share similarities with the dingo. Keepers decided this unlikely duo would make a good match.
Dante (meaning steadfast and strong) has a gentle and affectionate nature and his favourite game is playing hide and seek with Maliki and his keepers. Now six months old, Dante towers over Maliki but he is still a baby, so it will be some months before they are housed together permanently. Until then, they enjoy daily walks together and it is not uncommon to hear Maliki howl with anticipation as the keepers prepare for the two to spend time together.
Maremmas are a livestock guardian dog breed and Zoos Victoria is also trialling the use of Maremmas to protect critically endangered Eastern Barred Bandicoots being returned to the wild.